Royal College won the Orville Abeynaike trophy against their arch rivals St. Thomas, Mount Lavinia by 3-0 held at St. Thomas College grounds on Wednesday.
Royal’s right extreme Thineth Karunaratne opened the account when the centre forward Imad Dole passed the ball after dribbling.
Royal led 1-0 at lemons. In the second half left extreme Malithra Gunarathne scored the second goal for Reid Avenue School off a penalty corner.
At the last minute, Royalist Centre half Nelaka Wedagama sounded the board to finish 3-0 to win the Orville Abeynaike trophy for the fifth time in the last 15 years.
But Thomian still leads the tally with seven times while three games have ended in draw.
The clash officially got underway in the year 2000, with the trophy being named as the Orville Abeynaike Trophy, in memory of an eminent old Thomian who was a Sub Warden at S. Thomas’ College, while also coaching them at hockey during the 1970’s. This encounter is now being considered as one of the top sporting fixtures in both schools attracting large numbers of supporters as well as the hockey loving public in the country.
Royal Centre forward Imad Dole was chosen as the best player in this year’s encounter.
